Hand Tools doings #18: Sharpening

The guy I learned sharpening from said that really, only the first 1/8” of so needs to be mirror smooth. After the chisel has gone that far into the wood, the angle of the bevel is going to do the rest for you.

Of course, the guy who taught me also told me to do the back last. But I’ve seen more and more “back first” people here, so maybe I’ll try that next time.

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

that sounds nice. it should help your dovetails out a lot and most of all make it a lot easier. I remember when i did my dovetails i did the first one without sharp chisles and it was a nightmare. Then i sharpened them and it went so much smoother. just a quick question when you said “I’ve decided that if I’m going to do a dovetail project using hard woods”. i wasn’t sure if that meant that you have been using hardwoods all along or if you are just starting hardwods now. Just wondering.

Eric—- I’ve read many places that you don’t need to worry about anything more than the first 1 to 1.5” on the back——there are many were would argue with that and say that the whole back needs to be mirror finished, but I’m not going there.

TWA—- actually I’ve been practicing on popular——which is a hardwood – but softer than most. My first box project though will probably be oak or walnut or some combination thereof.

-- Betsy - There is no strength where there is no struggle

The idea behind putting a mirror finish on a larger area of the back of a chisel is that you are all set up and you can just do the larger area almost as easy as just a millimeters. Then when it comes time to resharpen, you don’t have to worry about the back again, it’s still flat. That makes the resharpening go much quicker because you’re only touching uo the first 1-2 millimeters on the front.

On wood selection, stick with the tight grain wood.

Good luck with the dovetails, practice makes perfect.

-- Every cloud has a silver lining

Ditto on the flat back. Flatten and polish as much as you’re willing. I do several inches if not the whole back. I get the mirror finish easiest on 2000 grit wet/dry paper on a granite surface plate. After that, the only reason to touch the back is to remove the wire edge you get from honing the bevel. A couple of strokes on a charged strop and I’m back to work.

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

Thanks guys——- I need the encouragement!

-- Betsy - There is no strength where there is no struggle